Sonar Vision Helps Blind “See”

A bunch of researchers over at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have managed to come up with a new device that will assist congenitally blind people to “see” again, at least, up to a certain extent. Touted as a kind of “sonar vision” device, it is capable of transforming images into sound, which is the opposite of what fictional characters like Daredevil (aka Matt Murdock) process, which enables the blind to perceive visual information using the ear.

Basically, this sonar system will turn images into sounds thanks to a clever combination of a video camera that has been embedded in a pair of eyeglasses, alongside a laptop for processing purposes and a pair of headphones. Someone will need to go through approximately 70 hours of specialized training beforehand so that they can identify the different kinds of shapes transformed into sound. Once the training period is over, the blind person could end up being extremely adept at perceiving information, including the location of a person in a room, as well as reading words and letters.